The invention relates to a multi purpose house for pets, especially cats, and more particularly a structure which is particularly well suited as a pet litter container.
A variety of pet litter containers are known in the art. However, known pet litter containers fail to provide a satisfactory means of controlling the odor and mess associated with pet litter, such as cat litter, which can be tracked out of the container by the animal upon its exit. Additionally, pet litter containers tend to be large and bulky, and are unsuitable for use with those who have to travel frequently with their pet, or who have to transport the litter container over considerable distances, at a high shipping cost. They are also usually messy and hard to clean.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,361,725 of Baillie teaches a litter containment apparatus for kittens and cats having two laterally adjacent portions. The first portion contains a litter box, and the second contains a mesh-like region over which the animal must pass upon exiting the container. Although some litter may fall from the cat""s paws while moving over the mesh-like portion, this apparatus fails to provide a means for inducing the cat to flex its paws, thereby encouraging litter caught between the toes to fall away within the apparatus, and not be tracked out.
A similar system is taught in U.S. Pat. No. 3,885,523 of Coleman.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,092,277 of Baillie teaches a variation on the typical side by side orientation of the mesh portion with the litter portion, by elevating the mesh portion to form a horizontal walking surface raised above the litter portion. This orientation may not require the animal to flex its paws upon exit, permitting litter to remain caught between the toes. Additionally, by placing grid or mesh portions above the litter area, the exit of odors from the litter region is facilitated, and may render such an apparatus unsuitable for use in close proximity to human living quarters.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,924,383 of Smith teaches a cat litter box threshold comprising an enclosed ramp suitable for abutment against a side entry of a conventional covered litter box. The exit ramp taught by Smith is not enclosed within the litter container itself. Thus, litter leaving the animals paws would scatter below the ramp, and would need to be picked up and lifted into the litter box. Moreover, the abutment of the ramp against the side entry of a covered litter box might prevent the use of a free-swinging door to the litter box. Thus, the apparatus of Smith may be unsuitable for use with litter boxes having doors, with the consequence that odor could pass directly from the litter portion out the door and into the room or home in which the box is located.
Canadian Patent Application 2,006,054 of Wolak teaches a collapsible litter box, having a generally rigid support skeleton enclosed in a flexible, bag-like member. This apparatus does not appear to provide for the removal of lifter from the animals paws prior to its exit from the container. Thus, animals using apparatus of this type may track litter away from the litter box.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a pet litter container which avoids many of the problems of these prior art containers.
In accordance with the present invention there is provided a structure suitable for use by an animal having paws. The structure comprises a housing including a base, substantially contiguous outer walls, and a top, these features defining an interior and an exit located above the base. A divider separates the interior into a litter region and an exit region. The exit region is located above and substantially beside the litter region and immediately below the exit, A foot cleaner surface is provided within the exit region and extends substantially from the litter region to the exit. The foot cleaner surface includes a ramp portion, adapted to encourage the animal to extend and flex its paws when ascending the ramp. In operation, litter may be placed in the litter region for use by the animal, and the animal must walk along the foot cleaner surface ramp portion to exit the container, causing litter to fall from the paws, thereby reducing the amount of litter remaining on the animal""s paws upon exiting the container.
The structure according to the present invention is effective in removing litter from an animal""s paws after use of the container, while at the same time containing odors within the litter box housing. It is also easy to clean. It is lightweight while, at the same time, can support an animal at all levels, enabling it to act as a facility for the animal""s toiletry, feeding and lounging.